HB2596

HB2596 lets victims of burglary punishable under Penal Code Section 30.02(c)(2) or (d) seek a Chapter 7B protective order, regardless of their relationship to the alleged offender. Those provisions cover qualifying second- and first-degree burglaries of a habitation, meaning a structure or vehicle adapted for overnight accommodation and specified connected or associated structures. This is not a blanket extension to every shop burglary or vehicle break-in. An adult may apply for a victim who is under 18 or an adult ward, and a prosecutor may apply on a victim’s behalf. Final law, Sections 1–2; burglary categories; habitation definition.

A court may issue a temporary order without prior notice or a hearing if the application shows a clear and present danger of the listed conduct or other harm. After a hearing, the court must issue an order if there are reasonable grounds to believe the applicant is a victim of a listed offense; conviction or deferred-adjudication community supervision supplies those grounds. Replacing the old wording with the full offense-list reference also expressly includes indecent assault in the mandatory-issuance provision, where the previous wording omitted it. Existing order conditions can restrict threatening contact, approaching specified places and other conduct to prevent future harm. Final law, Sections 3–4; available conditions.

If no application is already filed, the prosecutor generally must promptly apply after conviction or deferred adjudication. The existing exception remains: a victim may ask the prosecutor not to file, but that exception does not apply to a minor or adult ward. The act extends the relevant information and notification rights to the newly covered burglary victims, including information about how and where to apply, requesting prosecutor assistance, and notice when an application is filed. It does not extend every unrelated sexual-assault victim service merely by changing the article’s heading. Final law, Sections 2 and 6–7; application exception.

An order is not automatically lifelong for every burglary case. Mandatory lifetime duration requires both a qualifying conviction or deferred adjudication and an independent requirement to register for life as a sex offender. Otherwise the existing duration rule allows a lifetime or shorter stated term and defaults to two years if no term is stated. The act extends the right to ask the court to rescind an order to the added victims and their eligible representatives; an alleged-offender parent or guardian cannot use that representative route. The law took effect September 1, 2025 and prevails over conflicting nonsubstantive code-correction legislation from the same session. Final law, Sections 5 and 8–9; duration and rescission.